While Justice Sleeps(70)
“Did Ramji’s research specifically focus on Boursin’s?” Avery peered at the scholarly articles Ling pushed in front of her. “Justice Wynn spent a lot of time studying these companies and their research. If they weren’t working on cures for Boursin’s, I don’t understand why he’d build such extensive files.”
“Like I said, Boursin’s is one of the types of diseases that gene therapies can treat. But biogenetic research isn’t entirely benign. A number of bioethicists have worried about the weaponization of gene therapy.”
“How?”
“It ranges. Imagine if you could target certain genes with a protein that makes a person stronger. That’s basically the idea behind gene doping among athletes. Apply that to armies, and you’d have superstrong warriors who required little sleep and less equipment.”
“Could you reverse that?” Avery asked quietly. “Somehow target an army and weaken them?”
“Gene therapy currently requires close-range contact with a subject. You’re talking about hitting microscopic targets with the right combination of chemicals.” Ling’s answer was careful. “Genetic weaponization is a fringe field. Most reputable scientists would never admit to working on anything of the kind.”
“Found him!” Jared announced as he turned the computer toward Avery. “A. K. Ramji is Dr. Ani Kandahar Ramji. He stopped publishing a year and a half ago, and around the same time, posts on the evils of genetic weaponization started,” Jared said. “Guess who the author is?”
Avery gazed at the emails strewn across the table. Look to the river. “TigrisLost.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
“The same.” Jared typed more commands into the keyboard. “The earliest posts warn about the dangers of gene patents and the direction of research. As they continue, the author contends that Hygeia was involved in unauthorized research to convert biomedical science into weapons of mass destruction. Makes accusations against Hygeia and several other companies. Claims they colluded to develop a new form of biological warfare.”
“All by TigrisLost?” Avery shifted to stand behind Jared and peered over his shoulder. “Show me.”
“Give me a second.” He tapped in a series of commands, pages opening in quick sequence. Then, just as fast, the pages vanished. Jared typed faster, cursing beneath his breath. “What the hell?”
Avery leaned closer to the screen, reading over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Damned if I know,” he muttered, as the pages disappeared into the ether. Unable to stop the process, he took screenshots of several images before they were zapped. It took less than a minute to lose every document. Jared slammed his fist on the table in frustration. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”
“How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know.” He got to his feet, unable to sit. “I used a cache recovery program to find all the posts using similar language or related ISPs.” He pointed to the empty screen. “Once the pages started appearing, looks like a virus tripped and they vanished.”
“Were you able to save anything?” Ling asked.
Jared strode back to the computer and leaned over the chair. “I managed a couple of screenshots, that’s all.”
“So we have nothing.”
“Not yet.”
Avery watched in irritated quiet as he entered commands and plugged unfamiliar technology into his computer. The silence stretched for nearly half an hour, until Jared sighed in satisfaction.
“What?” Avery asked.
“Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide references to TigrisLost. I cannot find any recent sightings of Dr. Ramji or his compatriots.” Jared tilted the chair on two legs and wove his fingers behind his head. “I just plugged in several of the names from Ling’s list. Every scientist listed as an inventor with Dr. Ramji as a co-inventor has died.”
“How did they die?” Noah crowded close to the screen.
“This was a very accident-prone scientific team. Dr. Farooq Kuthrapali died in a car accident in Mumbai six months ago. In Bijapur, Dr. Jaya Gupta perished in a house fire. Dr. Sangeetha Malhotra was shot during a robbery in Hyderabad. And Dr. Pria Sen drowned while on vacation in Indonesia.”
Avery rubbed at her arms, suddenly chilled. “Any information on Ani?”
“Other than assuming he’s the judge’s chess partner, Dr. Ani Ramji doesn’t exist anymore. I’ve found an apartment he leased in Hyderabad before the merger and some stray Internet purchases from a few years ago, but otherwise, he’s been wiped off the grid.”
“You can check international databases that quickly?” asked Noah.
“With the right skills, yes. Money leaves a footprint. Cash is hardest to trace, but it has to come from somewhere, and I can typically locate the origin point. He may be in another country, but his Indian bank information and electronic presence have virtually disappeared.”
“Then he’s gone?” Ling placed a hand on Avery’s shoulder as she spoke. “We’ve lost him?”
Jared gave a half nod. “For now. But no one can completely hide their electronic fingerprints. I’ve put a tag on certain search terms. We’ll know if anyone else starts looking around for the same information or if he pops his head up. I’ve planted data mines in case he uses a credit card or tries to act online. Or, if anyone else is looking for him, you’ll get a chance to chat.”